As the mother to two cats and aunt to a dog, I know how quickly your photo library can with pictures of your pets in all their moods… silly, serious, and sophisticated. But once I started researching professional pet photography and portraiture as a potential side gig, I discovered there’s a lot more to it than my point-and-shoot method. Fortunately, there are ways to level up your pet pictures game by learning pet photography tips and tricks anyone can use.
If you’re looking to gain new ideas, methods, and skills, this guide to the best pet photography books will help you get there, whether you have hopes to be a professional pet photographer or just simply want to know how to take pet photos that capture the unique personality of our friends with paws.
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Do you have to be a professional pet photographer to take great picks of your pet?
No, you don’t have to be a professional pet photographer in order to take awesome pictures of your pets! Don’t feel pressured to embark on a new career in order to be great at taking pictures of pets. Even if you don’t have professional equipment or expensive photo editing technology, everyone can benefit from exploring pet photography with the books in this list. And if you do want to learn how to become a pet photographer who gets paid to do pet portraits, you’ll find books listed here that will help you skill up and break into the industry.
Now, let’s get to it!
Learning pet photography with the best books about photographing pets
Beautiful Beasties: A Creative Guide to Modern Pet Photography by Jamie Pflughoeft
Beautiful Beasties boasts it’s a “creative” guide to “modern” pet photography, and the book definitely lives up to its claims. In Beautiful Beasties, you’ll get everything you need to learn how to photograph pets in this must-read tutorial. This book is appropriate for all levels, whether you’re a beginner, hobbyist, or professional. Beautiful Beasties also has special coverage of starting a pet photography business, tricks for harnessing animal behavior, and focusing on getting a pet’s expressions to translate through the lens.
How to read it: Purchase Beautiful Beasties on Amazon
Pet and Horse Photography for Everybody by Nicole Begley
What’s unique about Nicole Begley’s Pet and Horse Photography for Everybody is the way she offers you inside information on how to achieve the same results she has with her pet photography; Begley includes a multitude of example pictures and then shares what settings and tech specs she used to get the perfect shot of cats, dogs, and horses. This comprehensive guide to learning pet photography will help you get professional-quality pictures even on your smart phone. Pet and Horse Photography for Everybody also includes details about pet photography equipment and other essential information for professionals.
How to read it: Purchase Pet and Horse Photography on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Pet Photography: Secrets for Taking Better Pet Photos with Your Phone by Tim Wemple
Did you know that there are different exposures you’ll want to use to photograph a black cat? What about a white cat? My kitty Jon Snow is all white, and I appreciate the tips included in Pet Photography: Secrets for Taking Better Pet Photos with Your Phone, which is all about how to photograph pets using your camera phone. Author Tim Wemple addresses everything from getting the angles right to avoiding blurry pictures to cropping your pic.
How to read it: Purchase Pet Photography: Secrets for Taking Better Pet Photos with Your Phone on Amazon
Pet Photography 101 by Andrew Darlow
Perfect for beginning and intermediate pet photographers, Andrew Darlow’s Pet Photography 101 is stuffed with all kinds of guidance on how to take pet photos. Darlow offers technical information, like editing, lighting, reflectors, as well as more advanced techniques, like lowering your perspective and using flash when you’re outside.
How to read it: Purchase Pet Photography 101 on Amazon
Pet Photography: The Secrets to Creating Authentic Pet Portraits by Norah Levine
From finding the best pet photography equipment to shooting specific locations to communicating with your animal subjects, Norah Levine’s Pet Photography: The Secrets to Creating Authentic Pet Portraits is your must-have book for taking quality picture of your pets. Levine also offers chapters on taking pictures of cats, dogs, as well as less common pets like horses.
If you only own one book for learning pet photography, make it Pet Photography: The Secrets to Creating Authentic Pet Portraits.
How to read it: Purchase Pet Photography: The Secrets to Creating Authentic Pet Portraits on Amazon
Books about becoming a professional pet photographer
How to Start a Pet Photography Business by Kyle Richards
If you’re wondering how to get into pet photography as a career, you’ll need to know how to run a business. It’s one thing to be know how to take pictures of pets, but it’s quite different to professionalize your hobby. Fortunately, Kyle Richards’ How to Start a Pet Photography Business has all the knowledge you need to go pro. Richards’ book bypasses learning the basics of pet photography in favor of getting you started with topics like crafting a business plan, marketing, taxes, pet photography pricing, and public relations. Aspiring professional pet photographers will definitely want to consult Richards’ book.
How to read it: Purchase How to Start a Pet Photography Business on Amazon
How to Start Your Own Business: The Facts Visually Explained by DK
True, How to Start Your Own Business by DK isn’t technically a book about how to become a pet photographer, but its strength in walking you through every step of the way to establishing a business is solid information for beginners. What’s nice about this book is its visual explanations for the terms, concepts, and facts about starting a business. How to Start Your Own Business covers basics like branding, taking payment, and balancing the books, plus more intermediate and advanced skills like creating a website, recruiting staff, managing social media, and building customer relationships. If you’re a visual learner, you’ll want to check this book out.
How to read it: Purchase How to Start Your Own Business on Amazon
Launch Your Pet Photography Business by Jaime Rowe
How much do pet photographers make? Is pet photography profitable? What are the standards for pet photography pricing? It’s natural to have all these questions about professional pet photography and more. And fortunately the eBook Launch Your Pet Photography Business by Jaime Rowe will help you find answers. This book will help you begin your business with sections on setting sales goals, deducting expenses, prepping for a session, as well as extensive information on pricing, sales, and customer service.
How to read it: Purchase Launch Your Pet Photography Business on Amazon
The Best Dog Photography Books
Art of Dog Photography: Pro Techniques for Everybody by Kimberly Hartz
Kimberly Hartz’s Art of Dog Photography: Pro Techniques for Everybody is packed with guidance on photographing dogs. An award-winning pet photographer, Hartz distills her lifetime of knowledge about dog photography into her book, with chapters on working with dogs, setting up a studio, choosing great props, proper posing, cultivating an artistic vision, and handling location sessions. With Hartz’s own photographs as illustrations and inspiration, this dog photographing tips book is one you won’t want to miss.
How to read it: Purchase Art of Dog Photography: Pro Techniques for Everybody on Amazon
Dog Photography: How to Capture the Love, Fun, and Whimsy of Man’s Best Friend by Margaret Bryant
Researching how to take cute pictures with your dog? Master pet photographer Margaret Bryant gives you an insider’s guide to snapping creative pics of man’s best friend in Dog Photography. What sets this dog photography book apart is Bryant’s expert dog photographing tips, like an emphasis on working with the unique behavior and body language of our canine companions as you set the stage for the portrait. In this helpful guide, Bryant helps you learn how to “talk” to your furry subjects and capture their personality in whimsical, compelling photographs.
How to read it: Purchase Dog Photography on Amazon
Dogtography: A Knock-Your-Socks-Off Guide to Capturing the Best Dog Photos on Earth by Kaylee Greer
Chock full of dog photography ideas, Dogtography is key reading for anyone who wants to level up their skills photographing dogs. Kaylee Greer is a pet photography legend, having showcased her dog pictures in National Geographic and starred in the mini-series “Pupparazzi.” And in Dogtography Greer has invited both amateurs and professional pet photographers to benefit from her blueprint to getting great photographs of dogs. Greer focuses on developing both soft and hard skills, like learning how to “speak dog,” shooting movement and action, managing group pictures, and wrangling sunshine. If you’re wondering how to be a dog photographer as a hobbyist or a professional, pick up Dogtography.
How to read it: Purchase Dogtography on Amazon
How to Make Your Dog #Famous by Loni Edwards
Maybe you’ve posted a few pictures of your pooch online and seen a great response. Now you’re wondering how you and your dog can take off in the competitive world of pets on social media. If this sounds like you, it’s time to consult Loni Edwards’ How to Make Your Dog #Famous. As the name of the book implies, this book is all about how to run a popular dog social media account. And taking compelling, captivating, and creative pictures of your dog is crucial to finding success (and followers!), all of which Edwards covers in this breakthrough book for professional pet parents.
How to read it: Purchase How to Make Your Dog #Famous on Amazon
The Best Cat Photography Books
How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats by Andrew Marttila
Taking pictures of cats can be difficult, but Andrew Marttila breaks down how to do it in his cat photography book How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats. This one-stop how-to to is full of cat photography tips and covers everything you need to know to photograph your feline friend. Marttila discusses cat-specific personality and behavior, camera phone photography, how to edit your pictures, and other topics for cat photography ideas. If you have professional cat photography on the mind or just want to snap some spontaneous pics that show off your cat’s singular spirit, How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats deserves a special place on your shelf.
How to read it: Purchase How to Take Awesome Photos of Cats on Amazon
How to Take Beautiful Pictures of Your Cat by Rick Reichenbach
As many cat moms and cat dads know, it’s not easy to photograph fussy felines. Cats won’t sit still, they frequently disobey our commands, and they have no interest in posing for portraits. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to have success taking pictures of cats. In Rich Reichenbach’s How to Take Beautiful Pictures of Your Cat, you’ll pick up a multitude of cat photography tips, like posing cats and getting their attention, harnessing your cat’s habits to your advantage, and shooting portraits with soft or hard natural light. Reichenbach’s book covers everything from how to get cats to pose for pictures to getting camera settings specific to cat photography right.
How to read it: Purchase How to Take Beautiful Pictures of Your Cat on Amazon
The Best Horse Photography Book
Horse Photography: The Dynamic Guide for Horse Lovers by Carol J. Walker
And last but not least, we cannot forget about our horse friends. If horse photography is your hobby or passion, it’s time to skill up. Carol J. Walker’s eBook Horse Photography is a key resource for photographing the majesty and magic of horses. Walker’s book goes over crucial horse photography tips and tricks, such as tech specs on selecting cameras and lenses, adjusting lighting and background settings, and how to use horse psychology to take better equestrian portraits.
